On Tuesday, January 7, 2025, the U.S. Department of Defense announced the transfer of 11 Yemeni detainees from the infamous Guantanamo Bay prison to Oman, including Yemeni businessman Abdul Salam al-Hila.

In a statement released on Monday, the Pentagon expressed its appreciation for Oman and other partners' willingness to support ongoing U.S. efforts to responsibly reduce the number of detainees and ultimately close Guantanamo Bay.

The other detainees transferred alongside al-Hila include: Othman Abdul Rahim Mohammed Othman, Moath Hamza Ahmed Al-Alwi, Khaled Ahmed Qasim, Suhail Sharabi, Hani Saleh Rashid Abdullah, Tawfiq Nasser Awad Al-Bihani, Omar Mohammed Ali Al-Ramah, Sanad Ali Yasslam Al-Kazimi, Hassan Mohammed Ali Bin Attash, and Sharqawi Abdu Ali Al-Hajj.

The statement noted that three of the remaining 15 detainees are "eligible for transfer," while a similar number are "eligible for periodic review to assess their cases." The rest face charges of war crimes.

The American Center for Justice welcomed the Biden administration’s transfer of 11 Yemeni men from Guantanamo Bay to Oman, calling it a "significant step towards addressing the injustice of indefinite detention without charge." The center emphasized that six men remain without charges, and three have been cleared for release, urging the U.S. administration to "fulfill its commitment to closing Guantanamo by transferring all cleared individuals and providing a fair legal resolution for those still detained."

The center described the indefinite detention system at Guantanamo as a "stain on human rights and global justice, and its closure is long overdue."

Who is Al-Hila?

Among the 11 Yemeni detainees transferred, Abdul Salam al-Hila stands out as a Yemeni businessman and member of the General People's Congress Standing Committee, who also served as an officer in Yemen's military intelligence.

A search conducted by "Bran Press" revealed information about al-Hila on Wikipedia and various international media. Al-Hila was arrested on September 19, 2002, from his residence in Cairo while attending the Arab Contractors Union conference, representing Yemen.

According to a previous New York Times report, al-Hila was detained to gather information on individuals who fought in Afghanistan during the Soviet war in the 1980s. He was later handed over to Washington and sent to Guantanamo Bay in 2004.

Al-Hila remained in Guantanamo’s notorious detention facility for 17 years, preceded by three years in Egyptian custody.

At Guantanamo, al-Hila was identified as detainee number 1463 among 92 Yemeni detainees in the prison. The facility, holding around 800 detainees, was established by former U.S. President George Bush following the September 11, 2001, attacks as part of the "U.S. war on terror."

No formal charges were filed against al-Hila. U.S. authorities cited "concerns over activities" he might engage in that could harm U.S. interests, categorizing him as an "enemy combatant."

According to writer and activist Hagar Mohammed, a relative of al-Hila, U.S. authorities never filed formal charges against him, nor was there any trial or prosecutor's records.

She stated on Facebook: "My uncle was never tried... he was thrown into prison just like that, without any trial or prosecutor's records... just thrown in there!!"

She added: "When the U.S. Department of Defense decided to release him, they stated: 'There is no longer a need to detain him,' which was the recommendation of the Department of Defense."

She continued: "For those analysts and security experts who claimed my uncle was involved in crimes of the heavens and earth, and even damaging the ozone layer... I relay to you the Department of Defense's statement: 'We decided to release him because there is no longer a need to detain him.'"

Following the September 11, 2001, attacks, the United States established Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba "away from the eyes of the law," using it to "detain those suspected of belonging to Al-Qaeda and Taliban," according to human rights and journalistic reports.